The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1887-04-03
JOURNALIST JENNINGS
TELLS THE STORY or HIS EN-.
COUNTER
With Boss Tweed and His Forty
Thieves and His Triumph
Over Them.

London World: Before l had
been at work very long in New
York" says Mr.. Jennings, st struck
me as curious thing that none OF the
city accounts were ever published.
There was law requiring them to
be issued quarterly aud annually, but
not sign of them could | find any
where. The taxation of the city
amounted to over $40, 900, 900 year,
and in the course OF few years
debt had been run up of over $780,
10000. There was never a city so
badly lighted and paved. All the
duties of city government were neg
lected. What, then, became of all
the money! Sc. myself to work to
find out. The city government was
entirely in the hands of Boss Tweed
and his merry men. They had yachts,
and fine carriages and fast trotters,
and wore diamonds in their shirt
fronts almost as large as saucers. A
few years previously most of them
had been unknown aud peDniless
men. The police, the sheriffs, the
whole control of the city was in their
hands. One day | managed to find
out that a sum of 5000 600 had been
charged for carpets in a building
known as the courthouse. / went
over the courthouse, and had look
rounI. There were no carpets there
only little mating, which might
have been bought for 800. Little by
little | got at the secrets of the city
account books. But | had nothing
which could be produced in the shape
of legal proof. The bold course was
the only one to take. | astonished
the city one morning by coming out
with an article entitled Two
Thieves. | denounced Tweed and
his confederates as public robbers.
They abused me to their hearts Goa
tent in their newspapers; every c,lme
l had ever heard Of was laid at my
door. | was arrested two or three
times a day as the fight grew brisk;
but the magistrate, albeit in the
Ring, never refused bail; and there
were gentlemen of the city who stood
ready day and night to give bail for
me to the extent Of S., 100000. had so
much been wanted. | was waited
for as | went home at 2 or 3 O clock
in the morning, but somehow my kind
friends always missed me. All Kinds
OF inducements were offered to me to
shut up and 60 away. One night
a man came suddenly into my
room at the office, shut u cor
quickly, and announced Ao in
tended to cut the out of me.
AS you see, l ar Therefore it
stands tc -,7oo ~ did not doit. 1t
is needless me to dwell on little
incidents If lat kind. There was a
we'll known man who once held an
official position in the Tammauy or
ganization, but had been unfairly
pushed out of it. He had friend
in the Comptroller's office, where all
the city books were kept. One night
he came into my room, took his hat
off, and remarked that it was very
hot. Very l said. You have had
hard fight, said he encouraglDey.
Have still, l think, replied l, as
cot up to look out of the window.
The truth was that | felt unusually
discouraged that night; there seemed
no end to the long road was on. i
said you have had it, said my ac-
quaintance quietly, pulling out roll
, Of papers from his pocket. Here
are the proofs, he went on, of all the
/ charges you have made-exact tran
scripts from the Comptroller
books. The money stolen is ovei
$50, 100000. Don't let the boys
know you have got these papers
they would murder you in twjuk'
: ling if they as much as suspected it.
, | held out my hand for the inestima
BILE roll, ran off home with it, anC
sat up all night disentapgling thu
figures and puzzling out the Who'll,
! story. The proof was ample, but i
, took me several days to bring it init
r a shape which would make its du,
> impression on the public mind. TIL,
: figures had been copied surrepti
f tiously at different times, and were al
in chaos. Hundreds of thousands o
dollars were charged the various per
8 soDs who, soon found, had no ex
Q istence. A plasterer had been paiC
. something like 81 $1,000 for plaster
| ing one building. Furnishing tina
Y building had cost T,5O0,0O0, al
D though there were only few stool
and desks in the place need no
tell you the details; suffice it to sa,
> that we got the corrupt Judges i'm
r peached and removed from tn
q bench; the Boss and his accom-
/ plices became fugitives, the entir